Declutter

The plan was to take a few minutes picking up around the house. Since the theme of the summer has been "Declutter", picking up a few odds and ends equates to throwing out bags of trash and setting aside the "Giveaways". We got rid of our DISH but I'm still holding out that HGTV's Divine Design will come to my town!

I have never been a meticulous person. God love my Mom but she was always so crazy about keeping the house clean. When I was 16, I remember she threatened me with the proverbial, "If you do not pick up every thing that is touching your bedroom floor, I will throw it out!" I must have thought she was kidding. Clearly, I was having a teenage-angst moment, probably flailing around to Teenage Wasteland.

Later that day, you guessed it, all of my treasured possessions were thrown into large kitchen garbage bags and lined up in the garage. In 16-year-old-hormone-enraged fashion, I stole the keys and stomped out the door to drive the car away. In a rare moment, my Dad followed me and calmly asked to talk to me. He told me that I needed to understand that my Mom cared about me and wanted me to be responsible for my things.

Almost 20 years later, married to a paper hoarder but otherwise, lovely man, and with 3 children under the age of 6, I...I.Understand.My.Mom. These days, I find myself teaching our kids about picking up after they play. The clutter is daunting and clouds my mind. I think about how our house is never clean. I wonder what our friends and family think about our mess. I shudder when my 'perfectionist' mind says it is never good enough.

When my ranting and raving only gets my Hubs and the kiddos upset, I am reminded that it will not always be like this. Will it? Is the clutter just in my home? Or is the clutter in my mind and heart? Uh yes, all of the above. I pray that God would clear my cluttered heart. This clutter is something only He can clean up.